Crossroads, Part II

"Crossroads, Part II" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 20
Writer(s)	Mark Verheiden
Story by
Director	Michael Rymer
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)
Production No.	319
Nielsen Rating	1.2
US airdate	2007-03-25
CAN airdate	2007-03-25
UK airdate	1 May 2007, 22:00
DVD release
Population	{{{population}}} survivors
Additional Info	Season Finale - 50 Minute Episode
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Crossroads, Part I	Crossroads, Part II	He That Believeth in Me (Aired: Razor Flashbacks)
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
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As Felix Gaeta testifies against Gaius Baltar about the execution list that the accused signed on New Caprica, Laura Roslin finds a disturbing link between her dreams and the Opera House on Kobol. Lee Adama turns around the trial with an unusual move, and several people make a disturbing discovery about themselves.

Summary

Teaser

• Admiral Adama shaves, cutting himself when the lights flicker.
• Laura Roslin calls, seeking a bit of humorous motivation to get out of bed and face the trial again, which she does not relish.
• After one feeble attempt, Adama manages "get your fat, lazy ass out of that rack, Roslin!" which makes Roslin laugh and give a heartfelt thank you. Adama tells her, "Don't let 'em see you sweat, Laura."
• Samuel Anders and Tory Foster are sexually engaged when she hears a strange music. When she notes it to Anders, he's surprised at the revelation, having heard it before himself.
• Diana Seelix knocks on the duty locker door and Anders opens it. An uncomfortable silence between Seelix, Anders and Foster begins.
• Galen Tyrol is half-asleep, humming the music. He leaves his bed and quarters and goes to a section of ventilation to hear the music elsewhere on Galactica.
• Lee Adama recommends pursuing a mistrial for Gaius Baltar, using his grandfather's written advice, believing that their successes are actually worsening the issue. Baltar is incensed at the suggestion, believing that Adama wants to leave the case.
• Romo Lampkin, Baltar's attorney, is inclined to agree with Adama, but young Adama's comment about his father's words about the "treacherous" Baltar leaves him to ponder.
• Baltar doesn't want to repeat the terror he's experienced in the time before the trial.
• Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson is training Seelix, Anders, and other Raptor nuggets, when Anders overhears Chief Tyrol humming. Together, they realize that the melody feels like something out of childhood, and they hear only a part of the melody.
• Before they can analyze further, Racetrack yells for Anders to return to the group.

Act 1

• Roslin takes Doloxan treatment in sickbay. As she lies down and dreams, she experiences the same dream as Sharon "Athena" Agathon, also in sickbay with her daughter, and both scream simultaneously. The two ask to talk privately.
• Later, Roslin and Sharon Agathon meet with Caprica-Six, who has also experienced the dreams. When asked why Six is trying to reach Hera, she says that she felt she had to protect her "with (my) life."
• Saul Tigh tells Admiral Adama about the music. The admiral tells Tigh that he will look into it later as he leaves for court.
• The trial resumes. Lt. Felix Gaeta is on the stand. The execution order from New Caprica is admitted as evidence by Cassidy, the prosecutor.
• Gaeta lies, as viewers are shown the actual events where Baltar is forced to sign at gunpoint, where Gaeta says that Baltar did not resist.
• Lampkin chooses not to cross-examine, to Baltar's great horror. The prosecution rests.

Act 2

• After a recess, the defense begins its case.
• Lampkin motions for a mistrial, as Baltar objects, due to prejudicial comments by Admiral Adama four days before. He asks for Mr. Lee Adama to take the stand.
• The prosecuting attorney strongly objects, but after Lampkin warns of much case law (he can think of seven examples off the top of his head) that permits such a procedure, the tribunal allows Mr. Adama to testify.
• Mr. Adama refuses to confirm his father's comments. As Lampkin tries to intimidate Mr. Adama, he restates, asking him if Baltar deserves a fair trial.
• Mr. Adama states that he does. When asked why, he states his belief that Baltar is not guilty. The prosecutor tries to get Mr. Adama off the stand at this point, but Admiral Adama asks for the questioning to continue.
• Pressed for more clarification, Mr. Adama states that Baltar did not commit treason. He asks the tribunal what anyone else would do in that situation. He notes that all other conspirators and resistance fighters were pardoned, as were many, many other mistakes of the past, from Roslin, to Admiral Adama, and himself in the destruction of the Olympic Carrier and running from New Caprica, recommending never to return with his battlestar.
• Mr. Adama believes that new laws are needed because they are less of a civilization now and more of a gang. He states that, unlike everyone else, Baltar is being prosecuted because of his arrogance and other considerable character flaws and is not being accorded the same forgiveness as others.
• Adama believes that the trial is built on emotions and shame from the events of New Caprica, and the shame of those that ran away. Mr. Adama looks to his father as he speaks.
• He believes that Baltar is a scapegoat for all the guilt of the people.
• The prosecuting attorney does not cross-examine, and the defense rests.
• The tribunal steps out to deliberate as Roslin steps down to congratulate Cassidy for her work.

Act 3

• Baltar is acquitted, 3 votes to 2 against. Yelling turns into a riot in the gallery as Marines try to get Baltar to safety while the press tries to interview many players.
• Baltar is happily discussing the victory but makes a mistake in insulting Admiral Adama. Lee Adama warns him, "Don't push it, doctor."
• When Baltar asks Lampkin to aid him in a book tour and other profitable matters, Lampkin tells him that his association with Baltar is over.
• Baltar suddenly realizes that, despite his apparent freedom, he is a man without a country, without work, friends, or even quarters.
• Lampkin and Mr. Adama say their goodbyes. Lee Adama, on seeing Lampkin walking away without his cane, realizes that he had used the cane as yet another psychological tactic.
• Gaius Baltar tries to be inconspicuous as he moves files elsewhere, but all eyes are on him.
• Roslin and Admiral Adama speak in CIC. She is incensed at the verdict. Adama reminds Roslin that "not guilty" does not mean "innocent."
• Roslin, who had assumed that Adama cast a guilty vote, realizes [to her shock and anger], that the admiral voted not guilty. She questions him on that, and he confirms that indeed voted to acquit Baltar because the prosecution failed to make its case.
• Adama tells Roslin that no one is asking anyone to forgive or forget, but they must look to the future.
• Adama orders the last jump to the Ionian nebula. The jump is successful, and Adama orders a DRADIS scan when Roslin becomes immediately dazed and stunned.
• As Admiral Adama looks to Roslin to check on her health, main power on every ship of the Fleet fails, leaving each one, including Galactica, drifting dangerously close to each other.

Act 4

• Pilots scramble with flashlights to their stations while CIC personnel try to get auxiliary power on line, but battery power is the best they can muster.
• The scene shifts to a dream in the opera house again, with Gaius Baltar holding Hera and Caprica-Six next to him. Above them, the glowing images of the Final Five appear. Caprica-Six awakens from the dream.
• Baltar tries to take advantage of the darkness and chaos when three women confront him. Frightened, Baltar is told by the women that they will take him to safety.
• The mysterious music gets louder and Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster, and Anders begin quoting lyrics from an increasingly coherent melody.
• The music becomes louder and more dynamic. All four are drawn to the gym on Galactica, where they discover each other. All four are stunned and shocked.
• Tyrol believes the impossible: that all of them are Cylons. They begin to hum the music, together, coherently, in full. Tigh angrily stops them and closes the hatches while they talk.
• Tigh affirms his military service and personal history, trying to believe that none of it was in vain. Anders objects as well.
• As power is restored, DRADIS picks up a large Cylon fleet coming. Vipers manage to scramble. Karl "Helo" Agathon, as acting XO, notes the mass power outage means it will take at least 20 minutes for the FTL jump drives on the civilian ships to be ready. The admiral doesn't believe they have the time.
• In the closed room, Tigh states that, despite what they believe about themselves, he is going to do his job as a Colonial officer, and heads to CIC. Tory follows Tigh to CIC, while Tyrol and Anders head to the hangar deck.
• The hangar deck is abuzz with activity as Chief Tyrol arrives, shouting orders to get a Viper into the launch tube.
• Lee Adama returns to his quarters and grabs his flight suit and helmet, deciding that he needs to be in the cockpit, protecting the fleet.
• Admiral Adama orders the preparation of the battlestar's nuclear weapons. Tigh reports on station, keeping his face stony, as does Tory Foster, offering help to President Roslin.
• The Vipers launch. Karl "Helo" Agathon asks who is the pilot of Viper 3, which turns out to be Apollo.
• Apollo picks up a target on his Viper's DRADIS and tracks it down. As he looks around, an image of a Viper Mark II keeps appearing and disappearing in the clouds and on DRADIS. The image buzzes overhead and alarms Apollo momentarily.
• Pulling alongside in her undamaged Viper, Starbuck greets Apollo. She tells him not to "freak out" and that it really is her.

Earth, in the closing seconds.

• The believed-dead pilot tells Apollo that she has been to Earth and that she will guide the fleet there.
• The music's mood and intensity change from a sitar blend into an extremely loud rock-fusion version with lyrics.
• As the music continues to play, the episode concludes as the shot pulls swiftly and violently away from Apollo and Starbuck's Viper and past the Colonial fleet, the Cylon fleet, and several planets to show an arm of the galaxy.
• The shot suddenly zooms forward and into roughly the same spot in the galaxy to the familiar blue-green planet of Earth, showing what is known to viewers as the North American continent.

Notes

• Four of the "Final Five" are revealed to be Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders, Saul Tigh, and Tory Foster.
• Lee Adama points out a string of incidents throughout the series that would have resulted in serious consequences under normal circumstances, but where the persons involved weren't punished: his destruction of the Olympic Carrier ^(TRS: "33"), William Adama's coup against Roslin, Lee putting a weapon to Colonel Tigh's head and supporting a mutiny ^{(TRS: "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II")}, Helo and Chief Tyrol killing Lt. Thorne ^{(TRS: "Pegasus")}, Tigh's use of suicide bombers on New Caprica ^{(TRS: "Occupation")}, and people supporting the Cylons on New Caprica ^{(TRS: "Collaborators")}.
• Bob Dylan stated his song "All Along the Watchtower" is better understood when viewed in reverse order. This song has been covered by numerous artists with Jimi Hendrix recording the definitive version. The song's lyrics can be interpreted as holding many parallels to the situation that Tigh, Anders, Tyrol, and Foster find themselves in.
• The Viper Mk. II piloted by Kara Thrace does not have a nameplate and appears to be brand new, unlike Galactica's battle-worn Mk. IIs.
• The final scene of the episode depicts Earth, notably the North American continent, definitively indicating Earth's existence.
• Originally, Baltar's defense was planned to hinge completely on an incident with the Sagittarons during the occupation of New Caprica. Many Sagittarons secluded themselves in their own settlement that was raided by the other humans who killed all Sagittarons there. Baltar was accused of ordering or allowing it, but then it turned out that he tried to prevent it. To this end, the Sagittarons were to be developed over several episodes, but this idea was scrapped because it didn't work out; with episodes like "Dirty Hands" rewritten and scenes in other episodes cut. Remnants of this plot can still be seen in "Taking a Break From All Your Worries" and "The Woman King" (Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three).

Analysis

• With the revelation that Galen Tyrol is a Cylon, the second human-Cylon hybrid known to exist is Nicholas Tyrol. His birth reinforces the Cylon belief that love is a necessary component to successful procreation. This would make one male and one female hybrid born to date. There may be significant biological differences between the two hybrids; one was carried to term by a human while the other was carried to term by a Cylon. This assumes Galen really is the father; there is strong evidence but no definitive proof of that.
• The reason for Tyrol's discovery of the Temple of Five on the algae planet is better explained here; however, it was clearly apparent that his conscious mind was unable to rationalize how he discovered it.
• It is also reaffirmed that none of the original seven is aware of the Final Five—as demonstrated by Sharon Valerii's lack of knowledge about Galen Tyrol's true nature during her relationship with him in Season 1 and the torture of Saul Tigh on New Caprica by the Cylons. In "Rapture," Number Three learns the identity of at least one of the final five and is heard to apologize; in retrospect, it's possible she was apologizing to Tigh for his torture.
• Intrepid viewers are quick to note that Tigh and Tyrol demonstrated no ill effects from the radiation at Ragnar in the Miniseries. However, Sharon Valerii was also exposed to Ragnar's radiation, and suffered no ill effects. It should also be noted that Galactica herself has radiation shielding, which is designed to protect her crew from radiation from nuclear detonations, as demonstrated in the miniseries after the nuclear warhead's impact. As Ragnar Anchorage likely did not have this type of shielding, because it was an ammunition reserve for the Colonial Fleet, it is extremely likely that Galactica was able to diminish the effects of the radiation, thus either delaying symptoms or reducing the radiation received to an amount too minuscule to invoke sickness. As well, it was established in the miniseries that the radiation storm takes time to work on Cylon physiology. Leoben Conoy had already been on Ragnar for several hours before the fleet arrived. Aaron Doral did not show signs of sickness until some time after being abandoned on the station.
• Tyrol's true nature also calls to mind how he was able to recover more quickly from being blown out the airlock in "A Day in the Life" than Cally; while Galen got through it with little more than aches and pains, Cally required extensive treatment and was still showing the effects in the following episode.
• Saul Tigh has been known to physically exist for roughly 30 years as of this episode. While Tigh claims to have fought in the first Cylon War, aside from likely military documentation about his service in the war, there are no supporting non-Cylon witnesses to support his claim. Similarly, Anders was a well-known athlete on Caprica for an unstated number of years before the attacks. Both predate the two-year marker previously indicated by two known infiltrators, Caprica-Six and Sharon Valerii. (This assumes, of course, that Tigh, Anders, Foster, and Tyrol did not in fact simply take on the identities of humans; as noted elsewhere, it is not yet known if the "Final Five" play by the same rules as the "Significant Seven.")
• A bit of potential, if not ironic, foreshadowing is seen regarding Tyrol being a Cylon in Season 2's "Resistance." In that episode, upon returning to Galactica from Kobol, Galen Tyrol is suspected to be a Cylon agent by none other than Colonel Tigh.
• As described by Tyrol when the four meet, the music and the Fleet's arrival to the nebula set off a switch within the minds of the four Cylons. However, unlike Boomer, their Cylon natures do not come with a different set of memories or personality.
• The four new Cylons all hold very important or potentially important roles within the fleet. Tigh is the right-hand man for Adama. Foster is the right-hand woman for Roslin. Tyrol is the senior NCO and in charge of all military maintenance and repairs on the Vipers and Raptors, and is also head of the Colonial labor union. Anders is a new pilot and Colonial officer and previously a key leader in the resistance movements on both Caprica and New Caprica.
• It's also notable that all four of the "final five" have, at one point or another, been in situations where they might not have survived to this point (and it is not yet known whether there are "many copies" of them). Tigh, of course, has been in harm's way many times, most recently on New Caprica, and has displayed self-destructive behavior throughout the series; Tory could have been killed when the Raptor collided with Colonial One in "Dirty Hands"; Anders could have been killed leading the resistance on both Caprica and New Caprica; and most recently, Tyrol could have died in the airlock incident in "A Day in the Life."
• According to Lampkin, Joseph Adama was a brilliant defense attorney, but not an honest man. This may allude to one of the reasons why Lampkin despised Joseph Adama, but explains Lampkin's tactics as he also respected Joseph as a mentor.
• Lee Adama finally realizes the full extent of how he was manipulated once he sees Lampkin walk off on his own with no cane. Lampkin's ruse was successful in putting a wedge between the Adamas to allow Baltar to be acquitted.
• Another tendency of Lee's is that, when faced with the option of completely severing ties with and opposing his father, he relents and attempts to return to his father's good graces. This has been seen when Lee Adama was given the chance to denounce his father to the fleet during the military coup, but he told Zarek that he couldn't.
• Ironically, it was Roslin who originally wanted Lee Adama to lead a panel to determine who was fit to be on the tribunal. She believed Lee Adama to have a particularly strong sense of right and wrong. Her belief about Lee comes back to haunt her as he rightly points out that her broad amnesty (after the second Exodus) should be applied to Baltar as well. Her fear and knowledge of Baltar's involvement with the genocide of the Colonies have clouded her judgment so that she does not grant Baltar the same amnesty.
• Lampkin apparently was telling the truth that all he had wanted was to have the glory of being the attorney for the most hated man of the fleet. Once his job is accomplished, he cleans his hands of Baltar, and makes it clear that besides the trial, he does not want to be associated with him.
• Starbuck's last words in the episode allude to "Maelstrom" as she is taking on the role of the Aurora idol that she gave to Adama before her "death." She claims that, like the idol placed on the model ship, she will be leading the way to Earth.
• Baltar's determined investigation into whether he was one of the Final Five was rooted in a desperation of figuring out who he was. For Baltar, if he were a Cylon, then he never was a traitor to his people and his self-identity would be cemented forever. However, for the four newly discovered Cylons, the revelation of their underlying natures leaves them confused and their self-identity fundamentally shaken. While Baltar would have embraced this revelation with joy, the four new Cylons tremble with horror.
• The loss of Tigh's eye on New Caprica now has a kind of dark humor to it, as the centurions on both the original and re-imagined series are characterized by their single eyes.
• Tigh states that if he dies today, he will be remembered as a human officer of the fleet and a patriot. But if death for the Final Five is similar to that of the other humanoid Cylon models, if he dies he will be downloaded into a new body, surrounded by Cylons intending to manipulate him to their side or box his consciousness, and should he ever come in contact with those who knew him as a human, they would instantly regard him as a Cylon and therefore an enemy.
• If the Final Five are capable of resurrecting and if Kara Thrace is the last of them, this could provide an explanation for how she comes to the Ionian Nebula. Her Viper could have been provided in the same way as the Raptor Baltar used to get to the disabled basestar in "Torn."
• Earth is shown in its current shape, long after the tectonic drift that split the theorized Pangaea super-continent millions of years earlier in the planet's presumed geological history. Also, from the vantage point depicted and the fact that all visible landmasses are in sunlight, no trace of a highly advanced technological civilization can be detected by the viewer.

Questions

Answered Questions

General

• Are viewers supposed to interpret the music as the actual Dylan song, and therefore a connection to Earth? (Answer)
• What is the importance of the Opera House? (Partial answer)
• How far is the Fleet away from the solar system? (Possible answer)
• Are the pursuing Cylons affected by the phenomenon which caused the simultaneous loss and subsequent simultaneous restoration of power throughout the fleet after jumping to the Ionian nebula? (Answer)
• Does Lee Adama truly see Thrace in a Viper or has she become an apparition, similar in nature to Baltar's internal Six? (Answer)
• What is the current state of Earth? (Answer #1, #2)
• Is there any significance to Roslin's disorientation after the jump? (Possible Answer)
• How were Kara Thrace and her Viper, unharmed and without any explicable means, able to survive the events of "Maelstrom" and transport from the "interior" of a gas planet to Earth and then to the Ionian nebula within a relatively short span of time? (Possible answer)
• How much does Thrace remember about Earth? (Answer)

Characters

• Who are the women who spirit Gaius Baltar to safety and what are their plans? (Answer)
• As William Adama is the deciding vote for Baltar's 'not guilty' verdict, how will this act (and Lee Adama's testimony) affect their relationship with each other? (Answer, Answer #2)
• What does Kara Thrace know that makes her assure Lee Adama "It's gonna be OK" when a Cylon fleet is closing fast? (Answer)
• Will Roslin's physical appearance change drastically because of her cancer treatments? (Answer #1, #2, #3)
• How will Thrace's "resurrection" from the dead be viewed by the Colonials? (Answer)
• How are Laura Roslin, Hera, Sharon "Athena" Agathon, and Caprica-Six spiritually connected, and what is the nature of said connection? (Answer)
• Was Baltar also experiencing the visions of the Opera House, or was that Caprica-Six's internal Baltar? (Answer)

Cylons & The Final Five

• Did the Cylons develop humanoid models before the first Cylon War? (Answer #1, #2)
• Assuming they choose to reveal their true natures, how will those close to the four revealed Cylons react when they learn the truth about their friends and loved ones? (Answer #1, #2) Can they reveal their natures? (Possible Answer, Answer)
• With the revelation that they are Cylons, will their allegiances to the Colonials change or will they continue to identify themselves as humans? (Answer #1, #2)
• Will Colonel Tigh's hatred of the Cylons persist in light of his discovery of his Cylon nature? (Possible answer #1, #2)
• Will Cally's hatred of the Cylons persist if she discovers that her husband is a Cylon and that her son is a human-Cylon hybrid? (Answer #1, #2)
• Are any of their histories, such as Tigh's 40 years of service and Tyrol's memories of his parents, true? (Answer)
• Why did Tyrol and Tigh show no ill effects during their time in the Ragnar Anchorage? (Possible reason)
• If any of the Final Five were to die, would they be resurrected in a Cylon Resurrection Ship? (Answer)
• Will the six other active Cylon models discover the identities of the Final Five? (Answer)
• Do the Final Five also have the general inability to conceive children? (Answer)
• Who is the last Cylon and why is he or she absent? (Answer)
• Is Saul Tigh the oldest humanoid Cylon model? (Partial answer)
• Did other copies of the newly-revealed Cylons exist in the Colonies? Do other copies exist anywhere else in the universe, or are the ones aboard Galactica the only versions? (Possible answer)
• Which of the Final Five Cylons did Number Three ask for forgiveness from in the Temple of Five? (Answer)
• Do the Final Five have the same ability to resurrect as the Significant Seven? If so, how? If not, why? (Answer #1, #2)
• Why does Caprica-Six feel the need to protect Hera with her life? (Answer)
• Do the Final Five have the same physiology as the other seven, such as their innate immunology, the ability to interface with computer equipment via optical link or data-font? (Answer)

Unanswered Questions

General

• Why does the Fleet jump into the nebula when it is obvious that the Cylons were following them, had probably inferred their trajectory, and could well set up a trap?
• What phenomenon causes the simultaneous power loss and equally simultaneous power restoration throughout the Fleet after jumping to the Ionian nebula?

Characters

• What convinces Laura Roslin to take the Doloxan treatments she refused earlier?

Cylons & The Final Five

• Given the small number of survivors from the Colonies, were the members of the Final Five preprogrammed in order to facilitate their escape with the Fleet?

Official Statements

Notes from the podcast

• Anders was originally supposed to take over Thrace's bunkbed, locker, and possessions. This was to highlight the strong pull that Anders feels towards her, even after her death. This was also meant to indirectly cause the audience to wonder what the connection between Thrace and Anders is, now that it is revealed that he is a Cylon.
• After Jamie Bamber (Apollo) delivered his character's courtroom speech for the first take, the entire cast (who were sitting in the stands) and crew gave him a standing ovation.
• Gaeta's perjury was originally discovered in the initial drafts of the show, though it was never filmed. Lampkin was able to find evidence that at the time Baltar signed the death warrant, Gaeta was away doing a dead drop for the Resistance.
• When the power in the Fleet goes down, Baltar was originally filmed being chased down by people from the courtroom who intended to murder him with knives. Due to time constraints, the chase part was cut out and only the encounter of his women followers who save him remains in the final version.
• There was another version of how Apollo encounters Starbuck in the final scene. When Apollo enters his quarters to grab his flight suit, as he turns around he was supposed to see Starbuck standing in front of him as she says "Hi, Lee." Moore changed his mind because he felt that it would imply that it was a supernatural event. The scene is included as deleted scene on the Region 1 DVDs.
• During the final weeks of production for this episode, fake pages and false information was purposely leaked out to maintain the secrecy of the final scenes of the Final Four and Starbuck's reappearance. This practice will probably continue as the series draws closer to its conclusion.
• The Final Five Cylons, as stated by Moore, are essentially different from the Significant Seven Cylons. Thus, all the rules and observations made about the Significant Seven cannot necessarily be applied to the Final Five.
• When the cast and crew discovered that Starbuck was to be killed in "Maelstrom," the atmosphere on the set reached a state of near mutiny. Eventually Moore and Eick had to reveal the secret of Starbuck's return to the cast and key crew members to calm people down.
• The TV network was willing to pay the royalties of the Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower," but Ron Moore wanted the song to be a cover to prove that there was a connection between the BSG universe and Earth's.
• Lines from "All Along the Watchtower" were purposely sprinkled throughout the dialog before the final revelation of the Final Four.

Other information

• Jamie Bamber discusses the finale:

It is a different finale in the sense that the previous ones have been about fragmenting the characters and spreading them all over different parts of space, and this one, everyone is really on board Galactica. Every major character is on Galactica, and the stuff going on down on Galactica is where the drama is.

• Edward James Olmos discusses the finale:

Yeah, it's pretty intense. You start to realize that you really don't know very much about everybody. I'm very happy, though, about the way that Colonel Tigh handles his realization [that he's a Cylon]. I think he would rather kill himself than do anything against a human. He doesn't realize that he has no choice. Once you're a Cylon, you're a Cylon, period. [Laughs] Except that Boomer's character has been able to cross over.

• Olmos discusses Kara Thrace's reappearance:

Well, for me, for [Bill] Adama, she's gone. For Adama, it's over. For us looking at the [show] and how it's unfolding, there's still a possibility [Starbuck is alive], but for Adama there's no possibility. I haven't seen her; they don't even explain what [Apollo] is seeing. Just like Number Six materializes to Baltar, we don't know what that is. What is she? Is she [Apollo's] Number Six? Is she only going to be seen by him?

• Rekha Sharma discusses how she found out about her character, Tory Foster, being a Cylon:

Actually, I first found out because of Eddie [James Olmos]. He kept asking me if I had read the new scripts and he kept smiling and laughing and telling me to "get ready" - It drove me nuts, so I went ahead and read some early outlines - they didn't spell it out, but it sure seemed like I was going to be a Cylon. I got so excited, and then I had to calm myself down, because you know they can change anything at any moment. It wasn't until we were actually shooting the season finale that I got the official word from Michael Rymer.

• Michael Rymer discusses the Final Five:

There are always a number of things that I rail against, usually to little effect. One was making Tigh a [C]ylon - as brilliant as it is, we now have a Cylon who is either a clone, or we have a Cylon who has aged like a normal person. I have no idea how Ron [Moore] deals with that - I'm sure I'll be blown away as usual. The others make sense to me because they don't have history on Caprica. Tyrol's already had fantasies of being a Cylon. He's also imagined killing himself which echoes Sharon's attempted suicide in Season 1.

• Rymer discusses the scene where the four of the Final Five come together:

Shooting the Cylon material was great fun. The audience guesses pretty quickly what's going on, but we played it very simply - what would you do if you kept hearing this song no one else could hear? For me its not the reveal to the audience, its when the characters reveal it to themselves in the gym - I love that scene. David [Weddle] and Bradley [Thompson] didn't short-change anything, particularly in that scene - so often, the time constraints make it hard to pull off "big ideas". I think this time we got it right.

• Rymer discusses his like for the two parter:

I think my favorite show(s) were the last two: Crossroads, Part 1 and 2. I really enjoyed the writing: the courtroom scenes, the four cylons, the shared visions: I thought it was everything we do well, none of the fat. For me, its about performance, so I have more fun working with actors letting them try stuff and play - I've had a good day when something exciting happened - something beyond my expectations. That's when I get to be an audience member, and be surprised by something brilliant and talented one of the actors has found. The least fun is the action stuff because it takes a lot of time and you have to be careful - and its hard for us because we don't really have the resources to make these things everything they could be.

• Ronald D. Moore discusses cast member's initial reactions to the Final Five revelations:

Michael [Hogan] went [nonchalantly] Wow. Okay. Very shocking. Shocking stuff. [Chuckles] He talked about it a little bit, wanted to understand it, but he liked it from the get-go and was very, very supportive of it. They all were pretty intrigued by it. I think Aaron [Douglas, who plays Chief Galen Tyrol] was the most hesitant. Are you sure? I want to make sure we're not losing something. I had to talk with Aaron a little bit longer than the others.

[...]

His chief objection — no pun intended — was that he's the common man in a lot of ways, the blue-collar guy, the salt-of-the-Earth character. And he was concerned that we would turn him into a master villain or something. I said, No, no, no, you are still going to be Tyrol. He doesn't even know why he's a Cylon, or what it means. It's a process of discovery for him, and trying to figure out what it means for him as a character. As it is for all four of them.

• Moore discusses using "All Along the Watchtower" in the episode:

I had always had this idea of using that particular song in the show as a marker that there were other things going on here. There was this idea developed early in the series, that one of the Colonial scriptures says, All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again, that certain elements and situations and even people repeat in a cycle of destruction and rebirth and exodus and chase, etc. One of the ideas I wanted to play was, okay, if you found a song that we, the audience, recognize, you realize that you have a connection to this world too, and suddenly other pieces start to fit. Well, why do they wear suits and ties? Why do they look so much like us? What is the connection between them and us? It would put in stark relief the idea that there is a connection between the people on Gala[c]tica and our experience on Earth.

• Moore discusses his thoughts on the fan reaction to the revelation of the Final Five:

I think it was probably what we anticipated. I sort of took as a guidepost the way people reacted to the season two finale. When we made the jump ahead, the year ahead jump and then put them all down on the planet, people were ecstatic and people were outraged. There wasn't a lot of middle ground. I kind of felt like, "Well, that's what they're going to do when we reveal the Cylons." And that's pretty much what happened.

• Bear McCreary discusses the use of the Bob Dylan song:

I learned that the idea was not that Bob Dylan necessarily exists in the characters' universe, but that an artist on one of the colonies may have recorded a song with the exact same melody and lyrics. Perhaps this unknown performer and Dylan pulled inspiration from a common, ethereal source.

• Mark Sheppard discusses Gaius Baltar's trial and the question of "being Apollo's conscience":

Mark Sheppard: Nah, I’m not Apollo’s conscience. I don’t think I have anything to do with Apollo’s conscience. No… but I like the fact that people have different opinions about where Romo [Lampkin] is, and I think it’s kind of a brilliant thing about him is that – all you gotta remember is that his rules are different than anybody else’s. And I think the easiest way to remember it is – it’s the result that counts. It’s not the methodology by which one achieves the result. And if you look at Lee and Admiral [William] Adama and the President [Laura Roslin] – it’s all about the methodology. It’s agonizing about whether they’re doing the right thing while they’re doing it. And with Romo it’s like – fuck it, just do it. What you need to do is achieve justice.

I mean, that’s the point. Is justice achieved at the end of “Crossroads, Part 2”? I think so. I think that’s the point. I think there should be no other outcome to the trial. And I think that is Romo’s job – by any means necessary.

You know, I think Jamie [Bamber] put it best in that lovely piece of writing and a lovely piece of acting with that section – I don’t know where the writing ends and the acting begins in that speech he has, but there’s a lovely piece where he says basically we’re a gang. Jamie was always talking about—these are rules for 51 billion people. This is a system for 51 billion people. This isn’t the system for the 40,000 people that are left. It’s not. It’s a completely different thing. You can’t run this type of system with a very quickly disintegrating human race. It needs to be looked at in a different way. The pomp and circumstance are there, and they’re all very caught up in the methodology.

And that’s the point. That’s why Romo wins. They’re all caught up in the romanticism of the trial. And it’s quite right. They want to throw [Baltar] out of the airlock so they can move on. That’s the point. And he didn’t do it. He didn’t do what they accused him of doing. He did do an awful lot of things, I mean, we know as viewers of the show – forget about what Romo knows. That’s a separate issue as well. But as viewers of the show, we know that he did something that we would all be guilty if we did it. …isn’t it?

• Jamie Bamber on his monologue in the courtroom:

Starbuck always has these great one-liners, so when I got six pages and six minutes of monologue on the courtroom stand I thought, well that's my version of a one-liner. It was definitely that tricky, tricky sort of scene of trying to work out what Lee's doing in that courtroom, and why he's there and why he's defending this man and it's sort of...

My character is more interesting when you put him in corners that he doesn't expect to find himself in...and to see how he justifies it and how he maintains his path through that...that was a real challenge. We had to work on just the content of what that was about. I love that. I love working with Michael [Rymer], that was fantastic.

• Ron Moore has confirmed in this interview that Tyrol, Tigh, Tory, and Anders are indeed Cylons and members of the Final Five. When asked whether Starbuck was real or a hallucination, he did not provide a conclusive answer. Also in that interview he states that Tigh "fought in two wars."
• In 20 Answers Ron Moore states that the issues regarding Tigh's service in the first Cylon War has a complex rationale already built out from "a lot of time and effort."
• In an interview with VH1, Ron Moore confirmed Starbuck isn't a hallucination like Head Six or Head Baltar.
• In an interview with E! online on March 26th, Ron Moore confirmed that Katee Sackhoff will be back for Season Four.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Laura Roslin and William Adama talk on the phone, while Adama is shaving:

Laura Roslin: Yell at me. I don't want to get out of bed.

William Adama: Well, you called the wrong number, I was just thinking of going back to bed.

Roslin: You feelin' OK?

Adama: ... says the cancer patient. (Roslin chuckles) Yeah, I'm fine. I just cut myself. How're you doing?

Roslin: I don't want to face them. I don't want to face any of them. I just want to stay in bed all day and sleep.

Adama: (about the cut) I think I stopped the bleeding. If you still need to be yelled at, I think I can give you some volume.

Roslin: Good. All right, give it your best shot.

Adama: Get out of that bed!

Roslin: That's not your best shot.

Adama: Get your fat, lazy ass out of that rack, Roslin.

Roslin: (giggly) Yes sir. OK sir. Anything you say sir. (beat) Thank you.

Adama: Don't let them see you sweat, Laura.

• Lt. Felix Gaeta has just committed perjury on whether Baltar was forced to sign the order of execution or not. Prosecutor Cassidy puts the document Baltar signed in evidence and on the defense table in front of Baltar:

Gaius Baltar: Get that out of my face before I....! (He grabs the document on the table and crumples it slightly and flings it away.)

Lee Adama: Gaius, Gaius, we'll get him in the cross.

Judge Franks: Counselor, will you control your client!

Baltar (to the judge): Look, it's no secret....

Romo Lampkin: Quiet!

Baltar: ...the whole Fleet knows that this man tried to stab me through the neck... (to Gaeta) ...And you missed! Butterfingers!

• Prior to the clarification of what the song is, two of the four Cylons (Saul Tigh and Samuel Anders) each speak a line of the lyrics in conversational context:

• While Anders is supposed to be learning about Raptor flight systems during a pilot training session, he catches Chief Tyrol humming the tune and asks him about it.

Anders: That song you're hummin'. What is that?

Tyrol: Oh, uh. Ah you know I don't even know, it's just something I can't get outta my head. Some way outta here.

• When Racetrack, who is the training officer, sees Anders off talking to the Chief:

Racetrack: Yo, Anders! Do you need a frakking invitation? Move it!

Anders: Alright. No reason to get excited.

• Tigh and William Adama discuss the music Tigh hears:

Saul Tigh: You'll look into it? You'll look into it? I am here telling you there is Cylon sabotage aboard our ship.

William Adama: Sabotage? With music?

Saul Tigh: I know, I know. I can't quite understand it myself. There's too much confusion.

• Lee Adama taking the witness stand:

Lee Adama: Did the defendant make mistakes? Sure. He did. Serious mistakes. But did he actually commit any crimes? Did he commit treason? No. I mean, it was an impossible situation. When the Cylons arrived, what could he possibly do? What could anyone have done? (looking at the audience) Ask yourself, what would you have done? (looking at the judges) What would you have done? If he had refused to surrender, the Cylons would have probably nuked the planet right then and there. So did he appear to cooperate with the Cylons? Sure. So did hundreds of others. What's the difference between him and them? The President issued a blanket pardon. They were all forgiven, no questions asked. Colonel Tigh. Colonel Tigh used suicide bombers, killed dozens of people. Forgiven. Lieutenant Agathon and Chief Tyrol. They murdered an officer on the Pegasus. Forgiven. The Admiral. The Admiral instigated a military coup d'état against the President. Forgiven. And me? Well, where do I begin? I shot down a civilian passenger ship, the Olympic Carrier. Over a thousand people on board. Forgiven. I raised my weapon to a superior officer, committed an act of mutiny. Forgiven. And then on the very day when Baltar surrendered to those Cylons, I as commander of Pegasus jumped away. I left everybody on that planet, alone, undefended, for months. I even tried to persuade the Admiral never to return, to abandon you all there for good. If I'd had my way nobody would have made it off that planet. I'm the coward. I'm the traitor. I'm forgiven. I'd say we are very forgiving of mistakes. We make our own laws now; our own justice. And we've been pretty creative in finding ways to let people off the hook for everything from theft to murder. And we've had to be, because...because we're not a civilization anymore. We are a gang, and we are on the run, and we have to fight to survive. We have to break rules. We have to bend laws. We have to improvise. But not this time, no. Not this time. Not for Gaius Baltar. (looking at Baltar) No, you...you have to die. You have to die, because, well, because we don't like you very much. Because you're arrogant. Because you're weak. Because you're a coward, and we, the mob, want to throw you out of the airlock, because you didn't stand up to the Cylons and get yourself killed in the process. That's justice now. You should have been killed back on New Caprica, but since you had the temerity to live, we're going to execute you now. That's justice. [...] This case...this case is built on emotion, on anger, bitterness, vengeance. But most of all, it is built on shame. (looking at his father) It's about the shame of what we did to ourselves back on that planet. It's about the guilt of those of us who ran away. Who ran away. And we're trying to dump all that guilt and all that shame on one man and then flush him out the airlock, and hope that just gets rid of it all. So that we could live with ourselves. But that won't work. That won't work. That's not justice; not to me. Not to me.

• Captain Doyle Franks' preface to the reading of Gaius Baltar's verdict

Doyle Franks: Like everything human, justice is imperfect. It's flawed. But it's those very imperfections that separates us from the machines, and maybe even makes us a species worth saving.

• Saul Tigh, Tory Foster, Samuel Anders and Galen Tyrol decide what to do now they know they're Cylons:

Felix Gaeta: (over the intercom) Inbound Cylon fleet. I repeat. Action stations, action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship. This is not a drill.

Tory Foster: My Gods, what are we going do?

Saul Tigh: The ship is under attack, we do our jobs. Report to your stations.

Galen Tyrol: Report to stations?

Saul Tigh: My name is Saul Tigh, I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am, whatever else it means, that's the man I want to be. And if I die today, that's the man I'll be.

• Starbuck pulls alongside Apollo in her undamaged Viper:

Kara Thrace: Hi, Lee.

Lee Adama: (his eyes widen in disbelief) Kara?

Thrace: Don't freak out, it really is me (laughs). It's going to be okay. I've been to Earth. I know where it is. And I'm going to take us there.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Mark Sheppard as Romo Lampkin
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Chelah Horsdal as Cassidy
• Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck
• Leah Cairns as Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Jen Halley as Diana Seelix
• Brad Dryborough as Louis Hoshi
• Alison Matthews as Fallbrook
• Susan Hogan as Doyle Franks
• Stephen Holmes as Reporter #2
• Keegan Connor Tracy as Jeanne (credited as "Young Woman")
• William Samples as Captain Jules Tarney (credited as Judge #2)
• Lily Duong-Walton as Hera Agathon (uncredited)

Original Series definition: a Colonial court hearing (see: Law of the Twelve Colonies)

Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another

Re-imagined Series definition: nerve center or "bridge" of a battlestar, see: Combat Information Center

Re-imagined Series definition: "Direction, Range, and Distance", Colonial equivalent of radar or lidar

Re-imagined Series definition: Executive Officer, e.g. Saul Tigh

Re-imagined Series definition: battlestar landing bay mechanism that arrests a landing Viper, Raptor or other small craft ^{(TRS: "Final Cut")}

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.

Re-imagined Series definition: all-purpose vulgarism; Colonial version of "fuck" (see: frak)